KEY TO WALKING

[mambo4]

No expert but my approach changed significantly when I began seeing the line as longer phrases that mirror the vocal melody.

For example when Frank sings "Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars"
I'm not just playing vi ii V7 I chord tones and chromatics
I'm constructing a bass line that feels like it starts and ends with the vocals
When I hit a new chord in the middle of the phrase, on "moon" or "play" , I'm more likely to use a non-root on the one,
but when the phrase completes with "stars" , I'm gonna have a strong cadence to a root note.

I dislike walking lines that don't actually feel like they are going anywhere or relate to the head

 

[txhawaii]

No expert but my approach changed significantly when I began seeing the line as longer phrases that mirror the vocal melody.

For example when Frank sings "Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars"
I'm not just playing vi ii V7 I chord tones and chromatics
I'm constructing a bass line that feels like it starts and ends with the vocals
When I hit a new chord in the middle of the phrase, on "moon" or "play" , I'm more likely to use a non-root on the one,
but when the phrase completes with "stars" , I'm gonna have a strong cadence to a root note.

I dislike walking lines that don't actually feel like they are going anywhere or relate to the head

why don't you post a line or two of music as an example to your discussion?

 

[slagheap]

ii - V - I in every key, around the cycle of fourths, metronome on, not stopping at the key changes.

Of course playing a lot of standard tunes is good and necessary too, but if I had to pick one exercise that really helped me the most, this is it.

i found this idea very helpful, have begun doing it. thanx for posting.

 

[sean_on_bass]

Listening to tons of recorded jazz music was/is the absolute most helpful thing. It imprinted what an authentic jazz player should sound like into my brain, which allowed me to start to create that sound on my instrument. Then in practice, learning to walk the blues in various keys with a metronome will get you VERY far.

 

[thehindteet]

1. Memorize a lot of standards. Get one of those top 100 standards list and just start working your way through it. Learn the head and how to play it on the bass if you can (sometimes its not practical). Make it an even balance of of blues charts, rhythm changes charts, ballads, bird tunes, etc. The book is a great resource but the changes need to be in your head.
2. Spend at least a couple of hours per week playing in a group setting, a jam, a class, whatever. Records like the Aebersolds are great for practice but learning to walk well requires learning how to recover from mistakes, whether you made them or somebody in the ensemble, and the records don't get drawn in when you make mistakes the way human players do.
3. Transcribe, transcribe, transcribe. Don't try to invent a walking vocabulary, absorb one instead. Memorize recorded lines from great records, find players you like and do their material til you get bored, then move on.

 

[noeinstein]

So much valuable information in this thread, much appreciated.